Tuesday, March 31, 2015

A little kindness goes a long way.

Words that I really do strive to live by, but also struggle to uphold.



Strawberry Singh did another Monday Meme, and this one really did speak to me on a whole lot of levels. I love her challenges, especially ones that get inside my head and make me think, and look at what I've been doing a different way. We've all been subject to meanness on the internet in this day and age, nobody is exempt...but to also think about how I've been on the other side of the table, been the one being mean...well, it makes me feel uncomfortable. I abhor bullying of any kind, but I am aware that sometimes...I end up being the bully.

Meme instructions: Answer the following questions either on your own blog or on any social platform.

1. Have you ever been subjected to mean comments online by strangers? If not, then skip to question #5.  In this day and age, I don't know anyone who can say that they have never been the target of mean or insensitive comments from strangers...or even from people they know. I came out publicly as pansexual while I lived in the deep southern United States, in a very Catholic family and section of the state, right around the time that Facebook was really starting to gain popularity and Myspace reigned supreme. So to answer the question, yeah, I have.
2. How did you respond to them? Honestly...depending on what the comments were about, my responses are anywhere from silliness, to snarkiness, to striking back to wound just as deeply as I may have been hurt. Some things get under my skin easily, while other things I can just brush off.
3. How did they make you feel? I have this thing about myself where I want everyone to like me and think nothing but positive or happy thoughts about me...or pleasant at the very least...very unrealistic, I know. So when I come across or hear things that people have said about me that are negative, I usually don't take it very well. I'm pretty good at bottling things up, which is actually a very bad habit of mine...but it all eventually comes out, and not in good ways. Shorter version: I don't react well most of the time, I pretend to brush it off, but I do take things personally.
4. Can you share some of the mean comments you've recieved and your thoughts on them? God...in SL alone, I could probably go on for days and days on end, listing every bad or negative thing said to me...I think one thing that sticks in my head the most is when I had my RL picture up in my 1st life About Me tab for a while...some random person who I never met before IMed me and called me an ugly whale, among other things. Usually I can brush that stuff off, but I remember it clearly because it was shortly after my father in RL told me that I was the least photogenic of all three of his kids, so I was already feeling down about myself. I don't remember this person's name, but their words stick with me still.
5. Have you ever ridiculed or negatively commented on someone else's work, actions or personality with the intention to hurt them? This one's a hard one for me to answer. I have never set out to hurt anyone with anything negative I have said...but yes, I have ridiculed and been negative and a general asshole to people. Comments in passing to friends about someone's photography and how much it sucks, negative comments about someone's clothes that they're wearing, their blogging style, their avatar's appearance in some cases...items that I didn't like in a store, sim designs I didn't like...I guess I don't like to admit that stuff to myself, because I do try to be a nice person...but I have a mean streak in me.

To close this out, I'm going to pull an entire paragraph from Strawberry Singh's blogpost, just because it really did speak to me. "If you're the kind of person that is spreading negativity, let it go. Don't let it define who you are in the real world or your voice on the internet. Help promote a more compassionate internet. Contribute to the community in a positive way, and take a moment to make someone's day. <3"


Caiti <3

What I'm Wearing!
Hair: Truth Hair Tulip - reds
Skin: -Glam Affair- Katra [America] 06
Tattoo: .Things. Incarceron(faded worn)
Hands: Slink AvEnhance Hands Female - Elegant 1(L), Elegant(R)
Feet: Slink AvEnhance Feet Female - High

Earrings: Maxi Gossamer Voodoo Rocker - Skull Heart
Necklace: Maxi Gossamer Jewelled Love V1 - Short
Bracelets: Glam Affair - Bangles Set Cream

Top: coldLogic outfit - cross.blush
Belt&Skirt: coldLogic outfit - dom.white
Shoes: [BREATHE]-EllieHeels-FATPACK(Pink Rose shown)

Pose 1(headshot): Glitterati 114
Pose 2(shoes): ...::Something New::... August CG(left hand&wrist adjusted via Animare HUD)
*Special Note* This pose is part of a 5-animation set at the third round of Olala. Each individual animation will be 25L, or you can snatch up all 5 for 100L! 

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